You Should Know About
Are you a grocery store or supermarket chain looking to expand your marketing horizons? You’ve come to the right place. We’ve consulted with our experts and have done our research to bring you the top marketing trends you should know about in 2023.
What to Consider Before Choosing Your Marketing Tactics
Before we get into the top trends, and before you implement some of them into your marketing strategy, we always recommend a starting point. Ask yourself and your team the following questions. What are you currently doing and using for marketing? What have you seen is working or not working? What are your goals for revenue, traffic, transactions, awareness, and so on. And lastly, how will you measure success? Once you know or at least think through the answers to these questions, you’ll be better prepared to make smart marketing decisions.
Top Tactics & Trends of 2023
1. Capturing Customer Data for Personalization
We’ve continued to see personalization grow and grow as a grocery marketing trend throughout the years, and this year will be no different. As the industry has blended with and moved more toward online avenues, it has become increasingly important for establishments to use data collected via marketing and other channels to create personalized experiences. We’d suggest encouraging and using feedback of store ratings and reviews, answering and recording questions and interactions, and communicating with customers via social media to acquire data and better your customer understanding. “Companies with stellar personalization programs can generate 40% more revenue than their competitors, according to McKinsey & Co.”
2. Delivery & Ecommerce/Digital Shopping
Staying away from the public may not be as important as it was in the onset of the pandemic, but it’s still convenient and expected – and something to showcase and advertise. Make sure you’re marketing this avenue when and where you can, so that you make the most of your different audiences (and, like we said above, personalize their experiences).
“Our 2022 Shopper Experience Index found that 64% of shoppers enjoy hybrid shopping that blends both worlds.” So, make sure to not only provide and showcase online shopping and delivery options, but in-store digital features, as well. Make sure shoppers, that always have their phones available, can use them during their shopping experience, whether that’s when they’re bringing in digital coupons, claiming in-store deals, or scanning foods to find out more, ensure their experiences is produced with an omnichannel approach.
3. New Mover Marketing
Always an important tactic in our book (and based on customer feedback and results), we continue to find this one among the top trends. For example, our multichannel, new mover marketing tactics over the past two years have helped a supermarket chain yield results of 25,000+ newly acquired shoppers, 2,700 coupons redeemed monthly, and an 18.6% coupon redemption rate. Don’t know about new mover marketing? Find out what it is, here.
4. Direct Mail Incentives
Direct mail continues to be a valuable tool to those looking to reach new and existing grocery customers. And, due to inflation from 2021-2023, customers seem to have a much higher focus on saving. So, you can imagine that gifts, freebies, deals, discounts, and so on, are more important than ever to include in your direct mail to entice customers to enter your store. Plus, it’s easy to understand whether this tactic is working – and quickly. If your avenue of enticing is a discount code or coupon deal, simply record the number of redemptions. Even better, if your enticing offer is claimed with a loyalty program sign-up, acquire even more information on your customer…
5. Loyalty Programs
You guessed it – our next recommended tactic is a loyalty program. These programs are just another way to help shoppers save, but increase their, well – loyalty. Loyalty programs, and the promotion of them, is a great grocery marketing tactic to keep customers coming back, and entice others to become repeat buyers. Plus, as we stated above, loyalty programs give you better data. “With the growth of grocery e-commerce and loyalty programs, retailers and brands have amassed more data than ever. You can see which brands shoppers interact with and ultimately purchase.”
6. Sustainability
Sustainable practices have become increasingly top-of-mind for 2023 customers, who value initiatives like plant-based living, environment, and social causes, and have more awareness of supply chain, packaging, and production. Because of this awareness and concern, more companies are putting focus on (and publicly supporting or combatting) eco and social causes. “Some 44% of Fortune 500 companies are integrating environment, social and governance practices into their core business strategies, as McKinsey also found that 76% of shoppers buy or boycott brands based on values.”
Not sure where to start? Providing reusable, logoed shopping bags is a great way to kick-off your eco initiatives, and doubles as a marketing tactic.
7. Quality Partnerships
Last but not least, marketing partnerships will be of importance in 2023, because you don’t have to (and likely don’t have all the tools to) do it all alone. Whether you partner with a resource to improve customer loyalty, work with a company to increase your quality data, or leverage services to facilitate business growth, any such partnership can be used to broaden your store’s horizons and enhance your practices. “Joining forces with technology and third-party delivery companies can help retailers gain cost efficiencies and eCommerce reach, as well as innovative value propositions for customers.”
Looking for tactics and trends to enhance your own grocery marketing? Contact the experts at Strata.
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